Woody Harrelson Heads to WAR… OF THE PLANET OF THE APES


Carson Wells! Haymitch Aberhathy! Marty Hart! Merritt McKinney!

Okay, maybe not so much that last one, but the point is Woody Harrelson has been a big part in some of the best and most awesome films in recent years. The dude is a brilliant actor, one who always immerses himself into a role and is definitely one of my favourites, which is why I was super-hyped-up when The Hollywood Reporter revealed that he’s been cast in the upcoming War of the Planet of the Apes!

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That’s the sequel to Rise and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which were both fucking awesome and are amongst my favourite films of 2011 and 2014 respectively. They really are smart blockbusters, the kind that you don’t see an awful lot of anymore; the cinematography, score and visuals are all incredibly evocative, and Andy Serkis really is a performance capture master. As well as all of those things, the scripts have packed a punch both times, with compelling characters and storylines. Seriously, why wouldn’t you like these movies?

That reminds me – I got Dawn on Blu-Ray for Christmas and I still haven’t rewatched…

He will be playing a character known as ‘the Colonel,’ who will be the main human villain of the movie. He joins an excellent range of villains and assholes in these movies; David Oyelowo, Tom Felton, Brian Cox and Gary Oldman. At the end of the last movie, we saw that the humans and the apes were basically gonna go at it in the next one, hence this being titled War. I’m gonna take a wild guess and say this main villain will be some kind of military leader, which should fit Harrelson like a glove.

Unfortunately for me, a guy who would very much like to know the direction the movie will take, not a lot of details are known. So far the characters and actors of the apes have been the only bridging gap between the movies, and there hasn’t been any indication that Jason Clarke or Kodi-Smit McPhee will be back. Relative-unknown Gabriel Chavarria was cast as one of the human leads, although there isn’t any clue about who he could be playing. Will there be another time jump and we’ll find ourselves in the midst of a humans-apes war? I would prefer it if Clarke came back, but hey, I trust those guys.

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The War of the Planet of the Apes heads to theaters on July 14th, 2017!